The engine sound control technique for vehicles, which is commonly applied to vehicles, improves a driver's enjoyment through auditory and visual effects, and raises the merchantable quality of a vehicle.
Examples of engine sound control techniques for vehicles include a virtual sound source playing method and a vibration sound providing method. For example, the virtual sound source play method provides interior sound by playing a recorded virtual sound source, and the vibration sound providing method provides artificial sound by vibrating (physically affecting, moving or contacting) a vehicle body, thereby improving a driver's enjoyment through auditory effects.
For these operations, the virtual sound source play method requires a recorded virtual sound source and an engine sound equalizer to perform volume control based on a load variation (for example, accelerator pedal position), and the vibration sound providing method requires a vibrator, or other acoustic of physical device, mounted in a vehicle so as to vibrate the vehicle body.
However, both of the virtual sound source play method and the vibration sound providing method have a limitation in that they artificially produces sound without considering load variations and power characteristics of an engine.